Green energy system could power the home and car

A wireless green energy system to supply the home
and the car is being designed by University of Auckland
engineering research fellow Duleepa Thrimawithana.

The
proposed green energy system would harness and integrate
renewable energies, such as solar and wind, to power a house
and an electric vehicle. The first working model of the
concept is being built in the Faculty of Engineering over
the next three years.

“Household renewable energy
systems need a very large battery to store power, which
usually cost tens of thousands of dollars, on top of the
cost of installing solar panels or wind turbines,” says
Duleepa, from the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering. “The concept here is to use an electric
vehicle, which already has a powerful battery, to store some
of the power for the system. This would make its
installation much more financially viable.”

While such
systems may be many years off, the project aims to
demonstrate that they can work in practice. The system would
make use of emerging technologies in wireless power transfer
and intelligent power management. In comparison to existing
systems, it would be more cost effective, safer and
versatile. Duleepa intends to develop new technologies in
bi-directional power transfer and new circuitry techniques
to improve the efficiency of the system.

Duleepa’s
project recently won a Foundation for Research, Science and
Technology Postdoctoral Fellowship, awarded to New
Zealand’s brightest young scientists, funding it for three
years.

Duleepa says the system could be retrofitted to an
existing home or become a feature of new developments. It
would draw on renewable energy generated for a single home
or a cluster of houses. The system would make use of
intelligent technologies – meaning it would automatically
schedule charging of the electric vehicle, transfer power
back and forth from the grid at optimal pricing, and would
adjust power usage to minimise waste and its carbon
footprint. The entire system would be controlled from a
central user interface or remotely through the
web.

Another distinct feature of the system is the use of
wireless or inductive power transfer (IPT) technology,
pioneered at The University of Auckland. University
researchers have developed several commercial IPT systems,
and have started looking at applying IPT technology to
electric vehicles. The electric vehicle would simply be
parked over an IPT charging pad in the garage to transfer
energy back and forth.

“IPT is an extremely easy and
efficient way to power an electric vehicle, and to safely
transfer power around a home, and back to the national grid
if there is any excess in supply,” Duleepa says. “We
know we can’t rely on fossil fuels forever, but current
renewable energy technologies cannot meet our energy
demands. We have to look for ways to make green energy
production viable.”

The concept of a Green Energy System
or Eco-System, to power both home and transport, was
originally proposed by Dr Udaya Madawala from the
University’s Faculty of Engineering. A team of students is
currently working on various aspects of this system under Dr
Madawala and Duleepa. Duleepa’s aim is to build the first
working model of this concept at the University, and it is
hoped that it will lead to the establishment of the first
Green Energy Centre for Energy related research.

Duleepa
says the concept could open up export opportunities for New
Zealand and he has already received significant interest
from the industrial and academic
communities.

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